Wall construction



Sept. 5, 1944. M. KNl GHT I WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 17, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 5, 1944. M. KNIGHT WALL CONSTRUCTION.

Filed Sept. 17, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 5, 1944 WALLCONSTRUCTION Milton Knight, Perrysburg, Ohio, assignor toLibbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication September 17, 1941, Serial No. 411,165

I 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to the construction of building walls andto'the provision of an improved building unit for use intheconstruction, of such walls.

The building unit herein provided consists generally of a Compositeblock comprising a body portion preferably formed from a cementitiousmaterial and an ornamental facing therefor, consisting preferably of asheet or plate of opaque structural glass. The ornamental face plate issecured to the body portion of the block by an interposed layer ofadhesive material, such as an asphaltic mastic cement, and also bymechanical fastening means in theform of metal frame members arranged atthe edges of the block and engaging both the ornamental face plate andbody portion.

In constructing a wall with building blocks of this type, the blocks arelaid up in courses one upon the other in substantially the same manneras cut stone, granite or terracotta, being preferably anchored to a rearor foundation wall. When the blocks are laid up in this manner, theornamental face plates of horizontally and vertically adjacent blocksare spaced slightly from one another and these spaces areordinarily'filled with a suitable pointing or caulking material,usually'in the form of a putty-like mastic, to close the joints betweenthe blocks. The use of such pointing material has not, however, provenentirely satisfactory because of its tendency to crack and in some casesto fall out, resulting in an undesirable and unsightly appearance aswell as exposing the joints between the blocks permitting water andmoisture to find it way rearwardly therebetween. 1

An important object of this invention is to eliminate the usual pointingor caulking material with its attendant disadvantages and to 7 providein lieu thereof improved means for closing the joints between thevertically and horizontally adjacent blocks.

Another important object of the invention is the'provision of a novelform of finishing strip which is disposed between the face plates ofadjoining blocks and firmly secured in place by'the metal frame membersarranged at the edges of said blocks.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a metalfinishing strip having portions thereof interengaging portions of themetal frame members of adjacent blocks and serving as a mechanicalanchor to effectively secure the ornamental face plates againstaccidental displacement;

A further important object of the invention is the provision of a metalfinishing strip in the form of a wedge-shaped clip insertable betweenthe face plates of adjacent blocks in interlocking relation with themetal frame members thereof and serving not only to point up the wallbut also lock the ornamental face plates against displacement andconnect the adjacent blocks together.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparentduring the course of th following description, when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the same: I

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a wall constructed ofbuilding blocks provided by the .present invention;'

Fig. 2 is a front View of one of the ornamental face plates and metalframe members associated therewith, the face platebeing partially brokenaway to more clearly show the metal frame members;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, section through the wall taken. substantially online 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective section showing two adjacent blocks and themetal finishing stripin position for attachment thereto; and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are sectional views showing three different forms offinishing strips.

With reference now to the drawings, there is disclosed in Fig. 3 a rearor foundation wall A of any suitable construction and a front orexterior wall B made up of the improved building blocks It) provided bythis invention. Although the building blocks used in constructing thewall B may be of any desired contour, they are ordinarily rectangular asshown in Fig. 1, as this is the most conventional shape. Each buildingblock I0 is of a composite construction comprising a body portion llpreferably formed of a suitable cementitious material such as concrete,Haydite, gypsum or the like, and an ornai mental facing I2 preferablyconsisting of a sheet or plate of opaque structural glass althoughceramic tile or face .plates of other materials may be used in somecases.

The face plate l2 covers substantially the en'- tire front surface ofthe body portion II and is provided with the outwardly beveledperipheral edges l3. Interposed between the face plate and body portionis a relatively thick, substantially uniform layer of adhesive material[4, preferably an asphaltic mastic cement. This layer of adhesivematerial serves not only to bind the ornamental facing to the bodyportion but also permits relative expansion and contraction between thetwo without danger of the facing becoming broken. The layer of adhesivematerial also serves to cushion the facing against shock and blows,thereby increasing its resistance to breakage.

Arranged at each edge of the block is a metal holder l5 and theseholders cooperate to form a frame preferably extending entirely aroundthe perimeter of the block and serving to mechanically secure the faceplate H to the body portion ll. Each of the metal frame members l5consists of a single length of metal shaped to provide a longitudinallyextending channel .portion l6 which is received directly behind the faceplate |2. The outer wall ll of the channel portion l6 constitutes ashoulder which abuts the rear surface of the face plate l2 and extendingforwardly from said shoulder is a flange l8 disposed opposite therespective beveled edge l3 of the face plate and terminating in aninwardly curved lip |9 which normally engages the beveled edge of thesaid face plate as shown in Fig. 4. 4

The inner wall 20 of the channel portion l6 of each metal frame memberI5 constitutes a shoulder which engages the outer surface of the bodyportion H, said shoulder 29 projecting slightly beyond the flange l8 andextending at substantially right angles with respect thereto is arelatively wide, flat load-bearing surface 2| which is disposed oppositethe body portion H of the block. Formed integral with and constituting acontinuation of the load-bearing surface 2| is an inwardly directedflange 22 embedded in the body portion of the block.

In the manufacture of the block ID, the glass or other face plate I2 isfirst laid horizontally in a mold and one of the metal frame members l5positioned at each edge of the face plate in such a manner that theouter shoulder ll of the channel portion 6 thereof rests upon the rearsurface of said face while the lip IQ of the flange l8 engages therespective beveled edge l3 of the facing. Suitable clamping means areprovided for maintaining the metal frame members in proper positionandthe mastic or other adhesive material [4 in a semi-liquid state is thenpoured upon the back of the face plate to cover substantially the entiresurface thereof to form a layer of the desired thickness. The concrete,I-Iaydite or other cementitious material forming the body portion II isthen cast on top of the layer of mastic to cover the same and completelyfill the space defined by the metal frame members as well as to embedthe flanges 22 of said metal frame members therein. The body portion isthen allowed to set, whereupon the block upon being removed from themold is ready for use.

In constructing the wall B, the blocks ID are laid up in courses to forma plurality of vertical and horizontal rows as shown in Fig. 1. Whenlaying up the blocks they are preferably spaced from the back wall A andinterposed between the two is a layer of mortar 23. Due to the fact thatthe load-bearing surfaces'2l of the metal frame members l project beyondthe edges of the face plate l2, there will be formed around the edges ofthe body portion H a continuous load-bearing ledge 24 which alsoprojects slightly beyond the edges of the face plate in a plane parallelwith the plane thereof. Consequently, when the blocks are laid up incourses in a wall with the loadbearing surfaces 2| of adjacent blocks inengagement with one another, the face plates of adjoining blocks will bespaced slightly from one another, and it has been heretofore customaryto fill these spaces with a putty-like pointing or caulking material toclose the joints between the blocks and give the wall a finishedappearance.

When the blocks III are mounted in place, the body portions I I ofvertically adjacent blocks will also be spaced from one another inwardlyof the load-bearing surfaces 2| and this space can be filled with alayer of mortar 25. With such a construction, the structural load of thewall will be borne entirelyby the body portions H of the blocks withnone of the load being placed upon the face plates l2. In other words,the load of one block is transferred directly to the body portion of thenext lower block and each block takes the full strain of the blocksabove it. Since it is impossible for the vertically adjacent face plates|2 to engage one another when the blocks are set in place in thismanner, strain upon the face plates will be reduced to a minimum,thereby eliminating breakage and chipping thereof. While the loadbearing surfaces 2| are shown in Fig. 3 as directly contacting oneanother, they may be slightly spaced by a relatively thin layer ofmortar, and in such case the load of one block will be transferred tothe lower block directly through this layer of mortar.

The construction of the block is such that the face plate does notsupport any of the load of the wall when the block is set into the wall,while the layer of mastic l4 between the face plate and body portiontakes care of any differences in expansion and contraction between thetwo ma terials, thus minimizing the danger of breakage of the face plateunder expansion and contraction. Also, the uniform layer of masticprovides a cushion for the face plate to minimize the liability ofbreakage thereof.

As pointed out above, the putty-like pointing material heretofore usedto fill the gaps between the edges of adjacent face plates has notproven entirely satisfactory a there is a tendency for such pointingmaterial to crack upon drying and sometimes fall out of the jointsbetween the blocks presenting an unsightly and objectional appear anceas well as allowing water or moisture to find its way inwardly betweenthe blocks. According to this invention, the use of putty-like pointingmaterial is eliminated and in lieu thereof there is provided a novelform of metal finishing strip 26. The finishing strip 26 comprises aface portion 21 and rearwardly directed integral side or wing portions28 and 29 having their free edges rebent inwardly to provide hookportions 30 and 3| which are received behind the lips |9 on the flangesI8 of the metal frame members I5. The finishing strip 26 is preferablyformed of relatively thin metal having sufficient resiliency to permitthe wing portions 28 and 29 thereof to be forced inwardly toward oneanother when installed so as to conform to and snugly engage the bevelededges l3 of adjacent face plates. The flanges l8 of the metal framemembers l5 also 'have sufficient resiliency to permit them to be forcedoutwardly by the wing portions 28 and 29 of the finishing strip 26 sothat the hook portions 30 and 3| of said finishing strip can snap behindthe curved lips |9 of said metal frame members and be interlockedtherewith. From the above, it will be seen that when the finishing strip28 is interlocked with the metal frame members 5 in the mannerillustrated in Fig. 3, it will be firmly secured 1n place. In additionto acting as an ornamental finishing strip to cover the joints betweenadjacent blocks, the metal strip 26 also serves to prevent accidentaldisplacement of the ornamental face plates l2. In other words, thefinishing strip is substantially Wedge-shaped in cross section and theengagement of the wing portions 28 and 29 thereof with the beveled edges[3 of the face plates l2 will result in a locking wedge action servingto mechanically anchor the facing. The metal finishing strip can beeasily and quickly installed and also serves to connect adjacent blockstogether.

The finishing strip 26 may of course have any desired profile and fourdifferent forms as shown in Figs. 4 to 7. In Fig. 4, the face portion 21of the finishing strip is somewhat concave and connected with the wingportions 28 and 29 by the slightly rounded corners 32 and 33. In Fig. 5,the face portion 21 is flat and connected with the wing portions 28 and29 by sharp corners 34 and 35. On the other hand, in Fig. 6, the faceportion is concave and connected with the wing portions by therelatively wide rounded corners 36 and 31 while, in Fig. '7, the faceportion is convex and connected with the wing portions by the slightlyrounded corners 38 and 39. between the various forms of finishing stripsdescribed above is in the cross sectional contour thereof; themechanical features of construction thereof aswell as the purpose andfunction of each being the same.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In a wall construction, a plurality of blocks arranged one upon theother, each block comprising a body portion, a face plate secured tosaid body portion and metal frame members arranged at the edges of theblock and having portions engaging said body portion and flangesdisposed opposite the edges of said face plate, the face plates ofadjacent blocks being spaced from one another, and a finishing striparranged between the adjacent edges of the face plates of adjoiningblocks and having portions interengaging the flanges of the metal framemembers of said adjoining blocks between said flanges and the edges ofthe face plates, said finishing strip being installed after the blockshave been set in place.

2. In a Wall construction, a plurality of blocks The only differencearranged one upon the other, each block comprising a body portion, aface plate secured to said body portion and metal frame members arrangedat the edges of the block and having portions engaging said body portionand flanges disposed opposite the edges of said face plate, the faceplates of adjacent blocks being spaced from one another, and a finishingstrip arranged between the adjacent edges of the face plates ofadjoining blocks and having wing portions interlocked with the flangesof the metal frame members of said adjoining blocks between said flangesand the edges of their respective face plates, said finishing stripbeing installed after the blocks have been set in place.

3. In a wall construction, a plurality of blocks arranged one upon theother, each block comprising a body portion, a face plate secured tosaid body portion and having beveled edges and metal frame membersarranged at the edges of the block and having portions engaging saidbody portion and flanges disposed opposite the beveled edges of saidface plate and having inwardly curved outer edges, the face plates ofadjacent blocks being spaced from one another, and a finishing striparranged between the adjacent edges of the face plates of adjoiningblocks having a face portion and rearwardly directed wing portionsprovided with hook portions received between the flanges of the metalframe members and the beveled edges of the face plates of said adjoiningblocks and interlocked with the curved outer edges of the flanges ofsaid metal frame members, said finishing strip being installed after theblocks have been set in place.

4. In a wall construction, a plurality of blocks arranged one upon theother, each-block comprising a body portion, a face plate secured tosaid body portion and metal frame members arranged at the edges of theblock and having portions engaging said body portion and flangesdisposed opposite the edges of said face plate and having inwardlydirected outer edges, the face plates of adjacent blocks being spacedfrom one another, and a finishing strip arranged between the adjacentedges of the face plates of adjoining blocks having a face portion andrearwardly directed wing portions provided with hook portions receivedbetween the flanges of the metal frame members and the edges of the faceplates of said adjoining blocks and interlocked with the inwardlydirected outer edges of the flanges of said metal frame members, saidfinishing strip being installed after the blocks have been set in place.

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